EA Sports Used Tebow's Name In "NCAA Football 10" While He Was Still In School

Tebow's name appears in the game on play calls that are exclusive to Florida's playbook

EA Sports used former Univ. of Florida QB Tim Tebow's name "in a handful of plays out of a formation called Shotgun Twin QB Tebow” in its "NCAA Football 10," which was released prior to Tebow's senior season at UF, according to Patrick Vint of SB NATION. Using an active college player's name “contradicts statements made by both the NCAA and EA Sports regarding the licensing of player names and likenesses.” The formation and play calls are “exclusive to Florida's playbook.” Former UCLA basketball player Ed O'Bannon, former Nebraska and Arizona State QB Sam Keller, and “a number of other players have sued the NCAA and Electronic Arts for violation of antitrust laws, based on their use of player likenesses in video games and other NCAA-licensed items” (SBNATION.com, 5/23). CBSSPORTS.com’s Mike Singer wrote “maybe it's a coincidence,” or maybe “it's just one more piece of evidence in the mounting case against the NCAA and its partners.” While the O'Bannon lawsuit has “largely flown beneath the public radar, the fact that Tim Tebow is now involved should ensure a more-than-healthy amount of coverage for the case” (CBSSPORTS.com, 5/23).

BLUE MAN GROUP: YAHOO SPORTS’ Frank Schwab wrote, “Anyone who has played the games will tell you that when ‘QB #16’ for Michigan has the exact same attributes as Denard Robinson (and is playing in an exact video game replica of Michigan Stadium, in an exact replica of the Michigan uniform), for example, it's pretty clear that player on the screen is supposed to be Denard Robinson.” But EA Sports and the NCAA “kept saying no names were used” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/23).